First, let me assure you that this has not turned into a soup blog, or even a food blog. Far from it (just look at my photos, ugh! Clearly I will never be a food photographer!). It's just that I have been on this soup kick, and at the same time, I've been really busy and writing my usual posts takes much longer than writing a post on how to make soup. Tomorrow I will bring back One Word Wednesdays, and I have other posts in the works that are more related to baby and kid stuff specifically. So have no fear!
Today's soup was born out of a lack of recipes online for Chicken Tortilla Soup that were to my liking, much like the Beef Barley Soup experience. I wanted a slightly spicy soup, and I had some chicken to use up, so Mexican Chicken Tortilla Soup seemed great. A lot of the soups online involved me making tortillas by hand and cutting them into thin strips and frying them, all things I have just no interest in doing. So I just used tortilla chips instead. Just as good, I tell you! This soup had lots of flavor and of course you control the spiciness, so you can make it mild for your kids or extra spicy for yourself!
Mexican Chicken Tortilla Soup (makes 4 large bowls)
Ingredients:
- 1 box (I think it's a quart?) chicken broth (I used low sodium)
- 2 cups water
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked and shredded
- 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 can yellow corn
- 1 can petite diced tomatoes
- 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 can black beans
- 1 tsp. minced garlic
- 2 chicken bouillon cubes
- salt
- chili powder
- fresh lime
- tortilla chips
- mexican blend finely shredded cheese (optional)
Directions:
1. In a dutch oven, saute garlic in olive oil until just fragrant.
2. Add chopped onions and saute until onions are transparent.
3. Add tomatoes, corn and black beans and stir until warmed through. (You can see from the photo that I forgot the black beans; what can I say, taking a 2 and 3 year old to the store you're bound to forget something! The soup was still good without the beans, but would have been better if I had remembered them.)
4. Pour in your box o' chicken broth and your 2 cups of water and stir. Heat for about 5 minutes on medium, then add chicken bouillon cubes. These are optional and some people don't like to use them; totally up to you.
5. Add shredded chicken to the soup. I like to broil mine (just because it is fastest) and then I shred them with 2 forks.
6. Stir well and heat through, then add salt if needed and chili powder. Start small and add more as the soup cooks if needed. I was surprised to find myself adding a pretty decent amount of chili powder two more times during the cooking process... I usually don't like things too spicy, but that extra kick worked great in this soup.
7. Turn the heat up and bring to a boil, then turn down to low, cover and simmer for at least 30-45 minutes. Mine went about an hour and 15 minutes total.
8. Taste often and adjust seasoning as needed.
9. Serve with tortilla chips. You can add shredded cheese on top right before serving -- it kind of melts into the soup which added a nice additional texture. I also highly recommend a generous squeeze of lime (I used two wedges) but wait until the very end to add it!
This soup was definitely a winner and would go great with a Negro Modelo! My husband only eats soup when it is really cold out, but I think this soup would be good in the summer, too. Let me know if you try this one! It's delicious!
Recent Comments